It looked like the Valpo women’s soccer team was going to close its swing through western New York with a scoreless draw Sunday afternoon, but host Canisius found the back of the net in the final minute of extra time to deal Valpo a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat.

How It Happened

The first 45 minutes was a feeling-out process for both sides, as the two teams combined for just seven shots and just one on goal in a scoreless first half.

Both squads placed more efforts on goal in the second half, as three of Valpo’s six shots were on goal and two of Canisius’ three efforts were on frame. But both goalkeepers were up to the task – Alana Rossi for Canisius and freshman Georgia Henkel (Houston, Texas/Stratford) for Valpo – to send the match into extra time scoreless.

Canisius put the pressure on the first extra session, putting three shots on goal in the 10-minute span, but Henkel saved all three attempts to move the match past the 100-minute mark.

The match looked destined to end in a scoreless draw as the clock hit one minute to play, but Canisius took advantage of a free kick in the attacking third. Magdalen Canitia sent the free kick from the right side into the box, where Luca Fahmer headed it home for the winning goal.

Inside the Match

Canisius ended the match with a 12-9 advantage in shots and put six on goal to Valpo’s four.

Henkel made five saves for the Crusaders, while Rossi stopped all four shots on goal to earn the clean sheet for the Golden Griffins.

Through five career starts in goal, Henkel owns a 1.15 GAA and a .769 save percentage.

Sunday’s fixture marked Valpo’s fourth 1-0 loss of the season through just six matches. That already matches the second-most 1-0 defeats in a single season in program history, trailing just the 2012 squad which dropped five 1-0 decisions.

Thoughts From Coach Marovich

“It is tough to keep dropping close results, but the positive side is that we are competing in every match and are right there.”

“We played on Friday night in a tough match, and our opponent had been off for five days, so the legs late were a bit heavy. Our players battled though, and unfortunately were just caught late on a set piece.”

“We have to keep working at our efficiency in the final third – once we find a rhythm there, things will turn because we are right there every night.”